Difference between revisions of "Log:Rooster Season"

4 April, 2017

Two old acquaintances enter the Hedge in search of the most dangerous prey. Hedge chickens.

Steepscrabble, Stoneheart, & the near Hedge

It's early evening, and the sun is now setting. This can even be seen in the Freehold's hollow with the few cracks forced opened by gargantuan vines. The few Changelings to be found are discussing this and that, although much of their conversations relate to the Soundless. Jonah isn't too hard to spot. He's just in jeans, a white t-shirt, and sans shoes. Despite how dry things are here, he looks to have been soaked by the ongoing rainstorm outside. He happens to be talking to a sandy sort whose Mien leaves bits of sand with his movements. Jonah, for his part, doesn't appear to be enjoying much of the conversation as much, and occasionally keeps looking around the place.

Eden is a bit wet herself from the rain making everything a little more clingy, she has a backpack over her shoulders, and is carrying a rifle that looks a lot like something out of Barbarella, but with a more modern aesthetic. She offers a wave towards the big ogre, "Heya!" she calls out, "I didn't keep you waiting much did I??" she asks as she approaches, flashing a big smile at Jonah, and the other fellow as well.

Jonah's frowning as Eden approaches, but some of his sour disposition is quickly gone when his name is called out. "That's all well and good, Leo, but this is me." To that the Elemental looks to Eden, shrugs, and begins moving back to another conversation while grumbling something. Jonah then turns to Eden, and casts his empty, white gaze on her. "No, I haven't been waiting too long. Getting here is pretty easy from time to time."

"Sooo... like I said, nothing too crazy I need. I need to go pick some Catseye Clover, and I'd like to catch a Razorbeak Rock Rooster, maybe two." Eden explains with a bright smile as she looks up at the rather tall fellow. "Should be able to find it all in the Freehold's territory I bet too. And now, I know you don't ever ask for much or anything, but I really hate not giving back for your help. So, like, if you want something, anything, just say so! So whatcha think, think we can go and do this?"

Jonah shoots a glance to the faux door that leads to the Hearth. He looks back to Eden, and then gives her a nod. "We can do this, and I don't need much. So long as you can help Fate's Harvest when you can along with an occasional free meal or three you're golden." To that end he motions towards the exit. "I'll have to follow your lead, though. I've never been that good of a tracker."

You're really too easy to please." Eden says with a little scrunch of her nose, "Okay, well, let's find the Clover first, that should be easy. It grows everywhere, practically wants to be picked!" she exclaims. "Shall we go on out?" she asks.

"Clover, hmm? I'll take your word on how easy it is to find. I can't tell most of the healing fruits apart much less anything else," he says while moving back outside. Once in the rain, he turns his gaze towards the scowl. If nothing else he appears to enjoy the relative peace of the outdoors, away from his duties within the Freehold.

"These basically look like normal clovers. More or less." Eden says as she strolls out towards the crevase that leads to the hedge. "Why don't we go someplace after we get these things and I can make a practice dish for ya so you can sample it first?" she suggests, "As long as we can get you away from work, that is!"

It's rare that something unsettles Jonah, but her last words are enough to give the Ogre pause. "There's a bar I know in town, but not too sure how keen Feathers is on a stranger going behind. She /might/ just hire you, but that's if you're looking for work. The place is good if you don't mind the booze, but everyone else loves the stuff."

"Yeah, that's an option I s'pose." Eden says, "I'm not looking for any work like that though, at least right now." She says with a little shoulder shrug as she wanders along, hmmning a bit, "Anyway, any kitchen'll do for this. You got a place? They're redoing the carpets at mine right now."

As they move along Jonah set his attention to the Hedge at large, occasionally looking back to Eden as she talks. "I do. Same apartment in Ambassador too. The oven's been a mess for about a year now, and the stove stopped working with the heat in the winter. I couldn't tell you why-" Beat. "Well, I could, but it wouldn't make a lot of sense. I do have a microwave, but I'm not particularly sure how much use that'd be for you."

"Huh..." Eden says, shaking her head a little, "How do you get by..." She sighs a bit, "No wonder you like food so much!" she says with a grin. "Well we'll figure something out." She says, heading out into the hedge alongside the big Ogre.

"I have a microwave, take whatever's offered to me, and I got banned from an all-you-can eat place after a painful fight." Jonah shrugs to that, clearly far too used to this notion. "I work out enough to even it out, and so long as it doesn't taste like offal I'm fine with it. Hedge fruits are a different matter. I'd kill for more food to be made with them."

"Well, once I get my kitchen fixed up you can come over and get some hedge fruit treats any time." Eden says with a little grin, "I need a test subject for my creations too." She meandres along a path here then there, eventually finding a little green space amongst the rocks where green has begun encrusting everything, little clovers with the leaves that look like the eyes of cats. She unshoulders her backpack and pulls out a couple of glass jars, as well as a big chef's knife, though, it's got a crystal handle, and the blade appears to be made out of frigid, icy, air.

The blade draws much of Jonah's attention when they arrive to her first prize, although he's still a bit preoccupied with surveying for any potential dangers. Then he gets a sight of that plant, pausing in his movements for just a second. "Okay. What exactly is that? I was expecting a regular little bit of clover, but, yes, Hedge. What exactly does it do, anyway?"

"It's a glamour fruit." Eden says with a big smile up at the man, taking that knife and going in, starting to cut at some of the bunches of clover and moving to store them in the jars. "It makes a delicious salad, the flower has a really nice nectar, kinda a sweet and sour flavor. And the leaves burn like Horseradish meets fire."

"Oh damn. I've actually seen a few of those then. Shoved and made up in a salad. Tasted good enough, but the others weren't too keen on 'em." A shrug follows as Jonah watches the plant put away. "BUt, I didn't know that about the leaves. I might need a few of those for when I make burgers."

Eden nods her head, "Yeah, I'm going to grill up the bird and make a sandwich, using the greens here to spice it up. Maybe make a little honey mustard sauce with the nectar." She says, going about the harvesting process with that hedgespun knife. "You wanna taste one of the leaves? They're fine raw." she plucks one out, offering it over.

Jonah nods in turn, and takes one of the offered leaves. He examines it briefly, and after just a second he basically shoves the entirety of it in his mouth. He gnashes on it, eyhes on Eden for the time being. "Well, I never knew you could do all of that with it. Shame my own cooking ends at what's ready-made and what I can do up on a grill."

"Oh, you can do a lot of wonderful things with hedgefruit." Eden says, finishing up her collection of the clover and stuffing it into her bag. "This should be good, I think." She shoulders the pack again and tucks away her knife. "So, like. I guess we look for some chickens?"

"I'll have to take your word of it. I can't much cook, but I already said that. I take what I can get, or simply eat what I come across." He shrugs, and then motions to the left and right of the trod. "Right, though. Razorbeaks and all of that. I'm kind of hungry now, and may eat one of them after we're done."

"Well, if you wanna eat it raw.." Eden says with a little hrm and a shrug of her shoulders, "Now.. let's see.. where can we find these things at..." She considers this, "Ahh, alright, let's go this way."

"Raw, cooked, it really doesn't matter to me." Jonah bares those pearly whites that may as well be rows of razors mimicing teeth, a visage unsurprising of an Ogre. Then he's moving along as directed, and steals a glance behind them for a beat. "What do you plan on doing with these chickens once you get your hands on them anyway?"

"Well, I plan on butchering them, of course." Eden says, checking her funky rifle a bit as she strolls, "Then I'll probably pound them out, dust them with flower, then grill or fry them up I think." She explains, "Then I'll get a nice artisan roll and make a mustard or aoile or something, and make a nice sandwich with some cheese, and the greens, and the sandwich spread.." she says, describing the process as she goes, eyes peeled for the a lead on the chickens.

All this talk of food draws Jonah's attention away from paying as much attention to the Hedge as he should. It's difficult to tell sans pupils, but his eyes damn near roll into the back of his head at the thought of everything Eden says. "All I ask is for some of that, and I'll even owe you again for later. That sounds like a meal truly worthy of a god."

"Oh! Look!" Eden says, pointing at something on the ground a little bit, gesturing. She takes her rifle, readying the crystal chamber on it. "There are some tracks, I think we'll find their roost not far from here by the looks of it." She says, grinning just a bit at the big ogre. "Lemme take the first shot, then you can charge in and smash, or.. uh.. whatever."

Jonah harumphs in response. "I don't smash." He does. The man has about as much finesse as a sack of bricks, and hasn't much changed in that department since Eden last lived here. "But I got your back, Chef. I'll even make sure not to make too much of a mess if it comes down to it, too."

Jonah nods along with the instruction given, and begins searching about for the hedge chickens. "Got it. Snap necks, meat's good." He pauses and slowly turns off to the north. "Company," he growls, and that they do have.

The Changelings were encroaching upon their territory, and without a moment's hesitation they make themselves known. These beasts could've passed for normal chickens from far enough away, but the slightest hint of a closer inspection betrays their faerie nature. Their beaks shine in the pale moonlight, and those feathers are as red as the blood in their veins. Most odd of all are those green eyes, and when they squawk a long, forked tongue can be seen flicking at the air.

Jonah, for his part, still seems to be preoccupied. The hens are rushing towards the pair, but what comes next has his complete attention. The rooster of the bunch, a chicken that stands tall enough to reach Eden's shoulder simply stares at them. Jonah roars at it with as much fury expected of an Ogre, and without a beat the two charge at each other.

Eden takes aim down what passes for a sight on her fanciful hunting rifle that, getting the razorback beast in sight she squeezes the 'trigger' of the rifle, sending a beam of brilliant 'sunlight' out into the razorbeak, causing it no small amount of searing pain before it keels over, dead.

One of their number goes down, and the razorbeaks squak in the memory of their fallen comrade. This just won't do, and without missing a beat they go right back to charging at Eden. However sharp those beaks may be, nary a one of the hedge beasts can get anything more than wind when they try striking the Elemental down.

Jonah may as well have been ignoring the instruction he was given because he's solely focused on the rooster. The two cocksure males appear to be wrestling with each other, although it's much more akin to a hot, bloody mess. Jonah met the beast horns first, but in the process got his back bloodied. Despite the pain the two are causing each other they don't appear to be willing to give an inch.

The first flurry of beaked attacks fail to land on Eden, the woman practicaly dancing aside from their beaks, finding an opening with her rifle as she chambers a new sun-crystal and firing into another of the razorbeaks, killing it with another beam of well placed sunshine!

Their first attempts may have been futile, and it cost them the lives of a comrade. No more. They kick up the mud in anger, and charge at her again. They give it everything they got, and if Eden makes it through this her shins are going to be hurting for a while on the way back to Stoneheart. Their name proves true as those metallic, razor-sharp beaks tear through clothing and flesh without fail.

Jonah's now on the ground in his contest against the rooster. Currently, he's trying to wrestle the thing's beak open, and cuts up his hands in the process. Luckily for the Ogre such injuries are far too common for him.

With a couple of the Razorbeaks dead, and her legs, and jeans in tatters, Eden grows a little more impressive, or maybe a lot more impressive, depending. And the peculiar effect fills the area, draining all hint of wrath, anger, rage, to the point that mortal enemies even would find themselves unable to resort to violence. "Help me get the dead ones!" Eden calls towards Jonah, "They'll not give us any problems for the time being.."

Both Jonah and the Rooster were still fighting when the halt comes, and the two looked apt to continue. However, the brawl ending between the hens and Eden only elicits confusion from both. Their blood intermingles in the earth, and for a moment it looked like they might go at it. However, both appear to consent to a truce of their own as they collect what they can. The roster with the remaining trio of hens that dart back off to the brush, but not before the male sends a glare in Eden's direction. Jonah then turns to grab the two dead chickens, and lifts them both up by the neck. "Just two? We could always try to go after them," notes the already blooded Ogre.

"Yeah, just the two." Eden says, glancing down at her pecked up legs, grimacing ever so slightly, "I figured I could get a couple more of them before they were all over me, but, this is good for the dish I'm gonna make, anyway. Didja have fun wrestling with that cock?" she asks, glancing in the direction of the departing rooster before looking back up at Jonah.

Jonah's turned off to look where the rooster went. He stares there for a bit too long, and flatly answers, "No. I'm going to hunt it down the next time I can, and eat it." From the sound of his voice it doesn't sound like that'll be anytime soon, and he then resigns himself to heading backto Stoneheart. "Let's head back so you can skin these things in a mostly clean place."

"Yeah.. let's get out of here before anything bigger comes to see what all the comotion was." Eden agrees, laughing softly and reaching out to pat the ogre lightly on the arm, "If it makes you feel better you can wrestle me when we get back. Sorry I didn't let you finish there." she takes her rifle and slings it over her shoulder and starts heading back along with Jonah towards Stoneheart.